Six-week, industry-wide celebration features ‘600 Miles of Remembrance’ tribute at Coca-Cola 600 and new NASCAR IMPACT partnerships to support veterans, service members and military families
DAYTONA BEACH, Fla. (May 21, 2024) – This Memorial Day weekend will serve as the launching pad for the NASCAR community to formally honor and recognize the United States Armed Forces through its annual NASCAR Salutes Together with Coca-Cola program.
Anchoring the opening weekend is the powerful “600 Miles of Remembrance” tribute, where every NASCAR Cup Series car in Sunday’s Coca-Cola 600 (6 p.m. ET on FOX) features the name of a fallen service member on the windshield. NASCAR and Coca-Cola will host Gold Star Families at Charlotte Motor Speedway, including many whose loved ones will be honored in the race.
“Coca-Cola North America cherishes the opportunity to honor the valor and sacrifice of our military heroes and their families in such a significant way each NASCAR season,” said Chris Bigda, Senior Director of Sports Marketing at Coca-Cola North America. “We’re looking forward to partnering with Speedway Motorsports, NASCAR and the racing community to show our appreciation throughout the entire NASCAR Salutes window, especially this Memorial Day weekend as we pay tribute during the 65th running of the Coca-Cola 600 to those who made the ultimate sacrifice.”
NASCAR Salutes Together with Coca-Colaofficially kicked off with a new 30-second television spot that debuted during FOX’s broadcast of the NASCAR Cup Series All-Star Race at North Wilkesboro Speedway this past Sunday. The campaign will continue celebrating the service and sacrifice of U.S. military members and their families through a multitude of at-track integrations, original content features and fan engagement opportunities through the NASCAR Cup Series race at Nashville Superspeedway on June 30. Fans can visit www.nascar.com/salutes to learn more.
“NASCAR has always displayed a deep-seated appreciation for our nation’s service members throughout its 76-year history, and we’re proud to continue partnering with Coca-Cola and our entire industry to express our gratitude for the incredible sacrifices those individuals and their families make on behalf of all Americans,” said Pete Jung, Senior Vice President and Chief Marketing Officer at NASCAR.
In conjunction with NASCAR Salutes, the sanctioning body has announced a new NASCAR IMPACT partnership with Honor and Remember to continue recognizing fallen service members and the sacrifices of their families. For more than a decade, Honor and Remember has collaborated with the NASCAR industry to host Gold Star Families at race weekends and display the organization’s dedicated symbol of remembrance – the Honor and Remember Flag – at racetracks across the country, including Charlotte Motor Speedway.
NASCAR IMPACT this week also launched a campaign to support the mission of Sound Off, a nonprofit organization founded to help reduce veteran suicide through free and anonymous mental health support for veterans and service members. Forty-seven percent of military members who show signs of PTSD or depression do not seek help, in part because of fears related to stigma or blowback. Sound Off provides a platform where military members who would otherwise avoid mental health support can engage anonymously with veterans with similar lived experiences. NASCAR is encouraging veterans across its fan base to download the fully encrypted Sound Off app and register as peer supporters.
In addition to those mentioned above, other NASCAR Salutes activities across the industry include:
- Discounted grandstand tickets are available to military members throughout NASCAR Salutes and all season long with NASCAR MILTIX Presented by GEICO. Active military and veterans can verify their status through SheerID and purchase tickets by visiting NASCAR.com/miltix.
- At NASCAR events during the campaign, service members from local bases will have access to complimentary grandstand tickets and unique VIP experiences made possible by Vet Tix and the NASCAR Troops to the Track Program.
- NASCAR Troops to the Track, presented by Chevrolet, honors and pays tribute to the men and women of the U.S. Armed Forces by inviting service members from local military installations to VIP experiences at NASCAR races, including hosting military personnel at World Wide Technology Raceway and Nashville Superspeedway during NASCAR Salutes.
- Mechanix Wear will provide NASCAR officials and Cup Series teams special camouflage “MultiCam Mechanix Wear” gloves for the Coca-Cola 600.
- For the seventh season, Mack Trucks, the “Official Hauler of NASCAR”, will wrap one of its NASCAR haulers in support of NASCAR Salutes for Memorial Day weekend. Fans voted for one of several different paint schemes in April. Mack will reveal the winning scheme on its social media channels leading into the Coca-Cola 600 weekend.
- In the weeks leading up to the Coca-Cola 600, Charlotte Motor Speedway continued its annual Mission 600, pairing the Coca-Cola Racing Family and other drivers with military bases to educate the NASCAR community about the day-to-day lives of the men and women who serve.
- Xfinity, a Proud Premier Partner, will display red, white, and blue Xfinity windshield headers on their race cars during the NASCAR Xfinity Series Bet MGM 300 at Charlotte Motor Speedway. This initiative showcases Xfinity’s commitment to hiring veterans, National Guard and reserve service members, and military spouses who bring unique skills and experiences to Comcast NBCUniversal.
- The NASCAR CRAFTSMAN Truck Series will also display red, white and blue windshield decals on all trucks racing in the North Carolina Education Lottery 200 at Charlotte Motor Speedway.
- Continuing its tradition, Goodyear will replace its iconic “Eagle” sidewall design with “Honor and Remember” during the Coca-Cola 600 in recognition of the organization working closely with the industry to honor Gold Star Families who have lost family members as a result of serving.
- NASCAR will continue to utilize its handicap enabled “Mobility Pit Box” throughout the NASCAR Salutes campaign to host mobility impaired race fans and veterans attending races at Charlotte Motor Speedway, Sonoma Raceway, and New Hampshire Speedway. The Mobility Pit Box was designed and announced by Toyota last year. It was gifted to NASCAR at the beginning of the 2024 season to expand its availability, highlighting Toyota’s vision of “Mobility for All”.
- Ford Motor Company will pay tribute to veterans and active service members in a special pre-race moment including several specially wrapped vehicles ahead of the NASCAR Cup Series race at Nashville Superspeedway on June 30.
- Universal Technical Institute, NASCAR’s Official Automotive Education partner for more than 20 years, in partnership with the United Service Organizations, will host a group of 50 active-duty military service members at their Mooresville campus for a day of motorsports industry immersion. Service members will tour UTI’s Mooresville NASCAR Technical Institute campus, visit a race shop, and talk about industry training and employment opportunities.
- NASCAR, Coca-Cola Consolidated, and Charlotte Motor Speedway teamed up with several local community organizations – including Rebuilding Together of Greater Charlotte and Habitat for Humanity of the Charlotte Region – to complete home rebuild projects for veterans in conjunction with the NASCAR Salutes program.
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About NASCAR
The National Association for Stock Car Auto Racing (NASCAR) is the sanctioning body for the No. 1 form of motorsports in the United States and owner of 14 of the nation’s major motorsports entertainment facilities. NASCAR sanctions races in three national series (NASCAR Cup Series™, NASCAR Xfinity Series™, and NASCAR CRAFTSMAN Truck Series™), four international series (NASCAR Brasil Sprint Race, NASCAR Canada Series, NASCAR Mexico Series, NASCAR Whelen Euro Series), four regional series (ARCA Menards Series, ARCA Menards Series East & West and the NASCAR Whelen Modified Tour) and a local grassroots series (NASCAR Advance Auto Parts Weekly Series). The International Motor Sports Association™ (IMSA®) governs the IMSA WeatherTech SportsCar Championship™, the premier U.S. sports car series. NASCAR also owns Motor Racing Network, Racing Electronics, and ONE DAYTONA. Based in Daytona Beach, Florida, with offices in five cities across North America, NASCAR sanctions more than 1,200 races annually in 11 countries and more than 30 U.S. states.
For more information visit www.NASCAR.com and www.IMSA.com, and follow NASCAR on Instagram, YouTube, Facebook, X and Snapchat.
About The Coca-Cola Company
The Coca-Cola Company (NYSE: KO) is a total beverage company with products sold in more than 200 countries and territories. Our company’s purpose is to refresh the world and make a difference. We sell multiple billion-dollar brands across several beverage categories worldwide. Our portfolio of sparkling soft drink brands includes Coca-Cola, Sprite and Fanta. Our hydration, sports, coffee and tea brands include Dasani, smartwater, vitaminwater, Topo Chico, BODYARMOR, Powerade, Costa, Georgia, Gold Peak, Honest and Ayataka. Our nutrition, juice, dairy and plant-based beverage brands include Minute Maid, Simply, innocent, Del Valle, fairlife and AdeS. We’re constantly transforming our portfolio, from reducing sugar in our drinks to bringing innovative new products to market. We seek to positively impact people’s lives, communities and the planet through water replenishment, packaging recycling, sustainable sourcing practices and carbon emissions reductions across our value chain. Together with our bottling partners, we employ more than 700,000 people, helping bring economic opportunity to local communities worldwide. Learn more at www.coca-colacompany.com and follow us on Twitter, Instagram, Facebook and LinkedIn.
